Info on Sanford,Smithfield, Angier, Knightdale

[cooperwx]

Originally Posted by 3littlerascals

... Tafton? ...In rush hour approx. how long would the commute be to Morrisville/RTP?

The drive from Tafton to RTP is over 40 miles ONE-WAY. If you can average 55mph, that's about a 45 minute drive. This would be a good day. If you can only average 40mph, you will be in a car two hours of your day.

[lauren4521]

Originally Posted by cooperwx

The drive from Tafton to RTP is over 40 miles ONE-WAY. If you can average 55mph, that's about a 45 minute drive. This would be a good day. If you can only average 40mph, you will be in a car two hours of your day.

Oops...sorry, I must have missed the original question. My dh commutes to RTP. He does miss the traffic because he's on the road at 6am and it takes him 45minutes going the 540 way. If he goes 70 (when he's carpooling) it takes about 5 minutes longer. Again, no traffic.

We had hoped for a shorter commute but his commute is still half of what it was in NJ and its a sacrifice he wanted to make to get the home/location we wanted. Everyone has to weigh out what is important. Dh actually doesn't mind his commute as he carpools most days and likes his buddies - its time for them to bond.

Lauren

[MariGirl]

I'm a longtime Sanford resident so maybe I can be of some help. Quite a few people choose to live in Sanford/Lee County and commute to the Triangle. It's about 45-50 mins. to RTP via a pleasant drive up US1 and then around Jordan Lake. You'll get as good or better quality home for the price range you mention here in Sanford, along with a decent sized lot. We found the public elementary schools here to be great, middle school in our district good but overcrowded due to growth (they are building a 3rd one as we speak), and the high school in our district not so good, but supposedly improving - we chose to go private for high school and have been very pleased.
Overall, Sanford is a very nice small-medium sized city. Everything I need on a daily basis is available and easy to get to, and you quickly become part of the community. For anything I can't find here, Sanford is centrally located within 30-45 mins. of Cary/Raleigh, Fayetteville, Southern Pines, Pinehurst.
1 hour to the zoo, 2-1/2 to the beach and mountains. The only thing missing from your equation is a Target (I long for one too!), but have managed fine thus far and just stop at one when I'm in Cary. (There's also one in Apex, but the one in Crossroads in Cary is only 30 mins from my home, and Apex is a bit further off of US1). Feel free to PM me if you'd like additional information.

[heretostay]

Try Heavenly Homes neighborhood in Angier. 3/4 acre lots. Granite countertops, lots of trim, hardwoods and tile. Avg 2200-2300 sq ft around $250000. I think the neighborhood is Brian Keith Meadows (Strange name) on Harnett Central road. Right around the corner from Harnett Central schools. Close to Fuquay or Lillington for shopping. About 15 mins to 55 Bypass which gives you about a 40 min total drive to RTP (depending on when you go).

[3littlerascals]

Originally Posted by lauren4521

Actually, there isn't a regular preschool program. They do offer an "exceptional child" or EC program for preschoolers. This can range from speech therapy to the severely disabled. My son qualified for some learning delays.

I live near Flowers (but not in it) and hear only good things. I believe that River Dell Elem is for the Flowers Plantation.

Lauren

Thanks for the info. I was actually going to post a seperate thread regarding special ed/medical as all three of my children receive services up here in PA.

I think I have some good info to sink my teeth into re: housing over the next few days. I'm sure I'll be back to post more questions.
Thanks to everyone for your help!

[NancyCL]

We moved to Angier from Wilmington (NC) two months ago and really love it here. We're close to I-40, off Old Fairground Rd. in a new subdivision called Harvest Ridge. The homes run from 1600 to 2400 sq ft. and are really nice. THere are several lots left so you can pick from the builder's plans to what you want. The lots run about a half and acre and the prices are in the high 100s. It's really quiet and peaceful here, but still close enough to the highway to get to Clayton, Garner, Raleigh and Cary. In fact, it takes us less time to get to the Cary Towne Mall from here than it took us to get to the Independence Mall in Wilmington from our home there due to traffic. You may want to look into this area, for it's inexpensive and a great place to live.

[jordansmommy]

Hi Lauren, I was wondering if you could help me out. Im new to this board and not sure how to just send you a message, but I just bought in clayton, and was wondering if you could tell me alittle more about the area. I have a 3 year old and was looking into daycares etc. Anyhelp from you or anyone would be appriciated! Thanks!

[Ora Barbour]

Originally Posted by 3littlerascals

We are a family with 3 young children (7,4 and 3) who will be moving to the Raleigh area later this year (no definite date yet). We have been looking at homes on line and have found some nice homes in these areas but the prices seem really low. Prices also seem low in Raleigh zip 27610. I know there is statistical info out there on these different areas and the schools but I'd really like some personal opinions from people who live/work there and are familiar with the areas.
I think my husband will be working in RTP or Morrisville. We are looking for an area where we can get 2300+ square feet with a decent lot size (1/3 or more) and also have good schools. Trying to stay around $250K. Also - we would like to be within a 15 minute drive of a Target, food market, restaurants etc but not necessarily right in the middle of it.
Most of what we have found is in the areas I mentioned in the title of the post. So I'm wondering if that will be an option for us or if we are going to have to go up in price or give up some of our wants to get to a better area.
We did see a few homes that were in Cary and other zips in Raleigh but I'm not sure if there are certain zip codes to avoid.
Also - anyone have any info on Lennar builders?
We live up in PA and probably will probably only have the ability to make one trip down there prior to the move so we are trying to do as much research as we can ahead of time.
Again, personal opinions are what we are looking for. Thanks in advance. These boards have been a tremendous help so far with our relocation.

Hi there! my name is Ora Barbour and I am a Real Estate Broker in Raleigh NC, and being from up North myself (NY), In my opinion I don't think you will be disappointed with Cary, Apex, Holly Springs or Fuquay. If you would like me to e-mail you listings from our MLS I will be happy to do so. If I can help, please let me know. orabarbour@hotmail.com

[al_roethlisberger]

Originally Posted by MariGirl

I'm a longtime Sanford resident so maybe I can be of some help. Quite a few people choose to live in Sanford/Lee County and commute to the Triangle. It's about 45-50 mins. to RTP via a pleasant drive up US1 and then around Jordan Lake. You'll get as good or better quality home for the price range you mention here in Sanford, along with a decent sized lot. We found the public elementary schools here to be great, middle school in our district good but overcrowded due to growth (they are building a 3rd one as we speak), and the high school in our district not so good, but supposedly improving - we chose to go private for high school and have been very pleased.
Overall, Sanford is a very nice small-medium sized city. Everything I need on a daily basis is available and easy to get to, and you quickly become part of the community. For anything I can't find here, Sanford is centrally located within 30-45 mins. of Cary/Raleigh, Fayetteville, Southern Pines, Pinehurst.
1 hour to the zoo, 2-1/2 to the beach and mountains. The only thing missing from your equation is a Target (I long for one too!), but have managed fine thus far and just stop at one when I'm in Cary. (There's also one in Apex, but the one in Crossroads in Cary is only 30 mins from my home, and Apex is a bit further off of US1). Feel free to PM me if you'd like additional information.

They are building the mega-uber-Wal-Mart as we speak here in Sanford, so although that isn't a Target.... well

Also, although I can't promise anything, I really wouldn't be surprised if other big box stores start to show up after we get the Super Wal-Mart. I've heard that Home Depot did their due diligence a couple years ago, so who knows.

We love Sanford BTW

Al